Veeco Instruments Shares Jumped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Veeco Instruments (NAS: VECO) are shining brighter today, up by 20% at their high, on news that China hopes to phase out incandescent light bulbs.

So what: Veeco makes equipment used in LED production, so ditching the ancient technology for LEDs would be a boon for its business. LED maker Cree (NAS: CREE) is also seeing some healthy upside today on the developments.

Now what: A handful of Chinese government agencies have laid out a roadmap to gradually ban imports and sales of incandescent bulbs for general lighting purposes. The ban would start in October 2012 and include lamps with wattage over 100 watts, while bulbs using 60 watts or higher would get the boot by October 2014. The goal of the initiative would be to conserve energy and reduce emissions for the world's most populous nation.

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